The first talk introduces the Monastic Orders and their beginning in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd century to their leading role in drawing the West out of the Dark Ages and into the High Middle Ages.

The second talk in our series treats of the Mendicant Orders that became a popular, if at times unruly, movement in the Church. While the Monastic Orders much preferred making foundations in remote areas on mountaintops or in isolated valleys, the Mendicants chose to dwell in the towns and villages, close to the people to whom they ministered. The best known of these Orders are the Franciscans and Dominicans. They were most influential from the 13th century through the 16th century.

The third talk of our series will address those Orders, technically Societies, that came about in the wake of the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Certainly the most famous and influential of these Societies is the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).